Welcome to the Rose Mansion - Chapter 40
Richelle belatedly recognized the dress her mother was wearing. It was a newly tailored, beautiful pale purple dress – something her mother had desired.
A voice whispered in her ear, now distant.
Oh, foolish Richelle Howard, harboring futile hopes again.
“Have you been well? Goodness, I was quite surprised to hear that you went to the Otis family.”
Unaware of her daughter’s frozen expression, Madam Howard approached with a light step, intending to share a hug of reunion but hesitated, stopping short upon noticing the sweat streaming down Richelle’s forehead and cheeks. After a moment’s contemplation, Madam Howard awkwardly patted her daughter’s shoulder instead.
“Have you lost weight? But why are you sweating so much? Your attire seems a bit disheveled too. Were you running around? You should act like a lady, Richelle. Especially in this place.”
What was she expecting?
The anticipation and excitement shrank, leaving a void filled with self-reproach.
Richelle politely brushed off her mother’s hand and meticulously closed the door behind her, hoping no one in the mansion would overhear their conversation.
When she turned around again, Richelle’s face had settled into calmness.
“How did you get here?”
“Richelle, is this how you treat your mother after such a long time?”
Her mother seemed unusually cheerful. Based on past experiences, whenever her mother was in a good mood, it always spelled bad news for Richelle. Naturally, the opposite was true as well.
A bitter laugh escaped her. Truly, what a miserably unhappy mother and daughter they were.
Seeing the self-reproach in Richelle’s gaze, Madam Howard sat down on the sofa. She leaned back comfortably, as naturally as if she were in her own home.
“The wealth of the Otis family is truly beyond rumors. I’ve never seen such a splendid and dignified drawing room.”
“I asked how you got here, Mother.”
“You’ve become even more unruly in just a month. By the way, does House Otis not serve tea to guests?”
It’s because it’s neither mealtime nor snack time. And going further back, she doubted whether it was even permissible to bring outsiders into the mansion.
Feeling a bit anxious, Richelle took a step towards her mother.
“Since you weren’t formally invited, it’s already a courtesy on House Otis’s side to offer the drawing room to an uninvited guest.”
“Uninvited guest, Richelle? I am the mother of someone who might become the young madam of the Otis family.”
“…What?”
Stunned by the response that was way out of her expectations, Richelle was at a loss. What in the world was she saying?
Madam Howard sighed deeply, wrapping her hand around her cheek.
“I’m truly disappointed in you. You’ve grown old enough only to throw unreasonable tantrums at your mother, and on top of that, you run away… It’s utterly exasperating.”
Richelle couldn’t decide whether to be angry about the ‘unreasonable tantrums’, the choice of the word ‘run away’, or should she continue focusing on the term ‘young madam’…
As she struggled to find her footing, Madam Howard continued.
“And you try to blackmail this mother with money? You’ve meddled in all my favorite dress shops and jewelers. How shameful it was to be denied entry by mere clerks!”
“…”
As her mother started to complain in earnest, Richelle felt as if a boulder was weighing down on her chest. She was struck by an urge to escape this suffocating drawing room immediately.
However, the current Richelle had the responsibility to safely send her mother back.
Richelle clenched her hands behind her back tightly.
“I only stopped the credit. If you need something, you can use your trust fund, Mother. There’s also the money sent by Viscount Oliphant, your uncle.”
“That damned trust fund, trust fund, trust fund! Your obsession with money is truly frightening. How did my daughter end up like this? That girl Anna is becoming just like you. Really, thinking she could dare to embezzle money without knowing her place?”
“Anna?”
It didn’t take long for Richelle to grasp the situation.
“I entrusted Anna with the household expenses. That’s because the nanny is weak against you, Mother…”
“You’ve always left the household expenses to Anna. I’m talking about something else.”
Something else?
A sense of unease suddenly surged within her. Richelle urgently asked.
